China is the only country with such an extensive recorded. 二十四史 Twenty Four History. covering the history of China. From around 3000BC to the 17

Transcription

1 Jenny Shi

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3 China is the only country with such an extensive recorded history of its civilization 二十四史 Twenty Four History collection of historical books covering the history of China From around 3000BC to the 17 th century (Ming Dynasty) Historical records were revised and edited very carefully by the next dynasty

4 Unfortunately, t this vast resource has yet been closely l looked into by scholars People believed that t regardless of the ethnicity, it all human developments should be similar In other words, as long as we have a general view, and discard our preconceived ideas of a particular society, we can petty pretty much understand d its development e right?

5 KC K.C. Chang ( 张光直 Kwang chih Chang), an archaeologist and sinologist from Taiwan, criticized the western theories on eastern societies Theories should be universal Western social science works have been predominant in the past centuries, and since at that time scholars knew little l about the Chinese history, every thing was based on Western history and experiences. How can we use something completely Western and assume that it will the Eastern world?

6 If the goal of sociologists i is to establish tblih the broadest generalization [of a society] possible, and if the extent of these generalizations is dependent on the [societies] applied, should the intellectual demands from research and studies of these sociologist not lead them to the Chinese record? Mary C. Wright

7 If we dug more into China s history, we then can improve upon the current theory of the development of civilizations 1. Thoroughly research the Chinese historical materials 2. To the greatest extent understand world history 3. Understand various Western social science theories We can then improve upon the current theory which parts fit the Chinese civilization, which parts need to be modified with our new knowledge Or, come up with a new and better theory altogether

8 Based on the data from researching into Chinese history, important Western hypotheses on the rise of civilizations were actually faulty These theories are not suitable for the development of Chinese civilization A comparative study of the Chinese, Mayan, and Sumerian civilizations versus the Western world gave birth to a new theory Chinese civilization is the prevailing gpattern in the transformation to civilization everywhere, and the Western pattern is the exception.

9 In his new theory, Chang proposed two patterns to the rise of civilization The Chinese pattern as one eof continuity Western pattern as one of rupture Among many factors, religion and writing contributed most to this divide

10 Continuity is the theory that civilizations did not deviate from their original traits That everything in the universe is interconnected The universe cannot be explained by looking at the parts alone Everything is in one continuum The ancient Chinese civilization exhibits this continuity, i as in, it was created within ihi a framework of cosmogonic holism (Chang) Cosmogonic origin of the universe Holism the whole entitles as the fundamental component of reality

11 The genuine Chinese cosmogony is that of an organismic process, where all parts of the universe belong to an organic whole and they all interact in a spontaneous, self generating life process. Frederick W. Mote (American Sinologist) It represents the views found in all primitive societies

12 Civilization ili ation is a stage, where people become civil il and live in cities after stepping out of the prehistoric barbarism stage of living in the wild Civilized people is above the uncivilized This stepping out, an act of replacing the old, is rupture According to Colin Renfrew (British Archeologist), civilization is ultimately man creating an environment that separates and isolates himself from the natural world Western sociologists such as Marx, Engels, Weber, and Childe speculated ltd that t the road to civilization iili for the Chinese seems to be a deviation Asiatic Aberration Chang says otherwise

13 This city countryside countryside contrast is actually a culture versus nature contrast at a deeper level The difference between continuity and rupture is easy to see in a comparison of two civilization exhibiting these Between the Chinese/Aztecs/Mayan and West (Europeans), especially in the aspects of religion i and beliefs, lif and their writing systems World Travel/Ancient+Mayan+Ruins_+Chichen+Itza_+Mexico.jpg.html

14 Sino Mayan vs. Western

15 The Bering Strait provided a path for American Indian ancestors to migrate from Asia to the New World. These migrated civilization retained features from their Asian homelands Emphasis on ecstatic experiences shamanism

16 The natural and supernatural is a result of magic Opposite of creation from nothing in Christianity Multi layered layered universe with underworld and upperworld Deities control lives, but can be manipulated through sacrifices Man animal equivalence and man animal transformation (therianthropy) h Man is a part of nature, and not something above Concept of soul spirit; spirit; sickness is the result of the displacement of the soul spirit into the upper/underworlds

17 白蛇精 literally white snake spirit ; appears very often in Chinese myths and stories Legend_white_snake.JPG Jaguar Warrior Aztec elite warrior class

18 Sino Mayans Interconnected universe There is an ordered universe where nature and human activities are intrinsically linked Man is a part of nature Therianthropy Ancestral worship Western Sino Mayan concepts replaced by The concept of creator Cities as products of civilization Man is removed from nature because he is greater than nature Religious and academic institutions gave man his identity Membership religion

19 Sino Mayan Writing vs. Western Writing

20 Oracle Bone Inscription ( BC) Bronze Script ( BC) Large Seal Script ( BC) Small Seal Script ( BC) Clerical Script Standard Script Both appeared during the Han Dynasty (207 BC 220 AD); Standard Script is in use today

21 glyphs are insane.html

22 Both Chinese and Mayan writing systems display continuity Started out as logographic / logosyllabic Continued to develop as those Currently still the same Reflects the continuity nature of their civilizations However this is a different story for the Western However, this is a different story for the Western world

23 Discontinuity between een logographic, syllabic and alphabetical writing Started out as logographic Sumerian Cuneiform logographic Egyptian Hieroglyphics gyp logographic g Later replaced by alphabetic / syllabic writing systems Greek alphabetic (α,β,γ,δ ) β γ English syllabic (water: wa ter) A striking example of this rupture is the three types of inscriptions featured on the Rosetta Stone This discontinuity further supports the idea that the development of Western civilizations is one of rupture

24 Egyptian Hieroglyphics g yp Demotic Ancient Greek rosetta stone of metaphysics the li/

25 Through h these comparisons, it can be concluded d that t the development of Sino Mayan civilization is one of continuity, while that of the Western civilizations is one of rupture.

26 Thanks for watching and listening!

27 Ager, Simon. "Evolution of Chinese Characters. " Omniglot the Guide to Languages, Alphabets and Other Writing Systems. Omniglot. Web. 06 Nov < n.htm>. Chang, Kwang chih. 中国青铜时代 : 二集. Beijing: 三联书店, Print. Little, Stephen. Chinese Calligraphy. The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. 74, No. 9 (Nov., 1987), pp JSTOR. Web. 01 Nov <